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'Season on the brink': South Australia drops fresh bombshell on AFL

Australian Associated Press
·3-min read
Adelaide Crows players, pictured here after their loss in Round 3 of the AFL.
Adelaide Crows players leave the field after their loss in Round 3 of the AFL. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

The AFL will be forced into yet another fixture shake-up with South Australia's government compelling SA clubs into quarantine if they play a Victorian side.

A day after Queensland's government adopted fresh coronavirus protocols involving Victorians, SA Premier Steven Marshall has followed suit.

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Marshall has rescinded a decision to open his state's borders with Victoria from July 20.

The move will likely prevent Adelaide and Port Adelaide playing as scheduled in Melbourne in round seven on July 18 and 19 respectively, when both clubs were due to play Melbourne clubs.

And it also effectively rules out Adelaide being used as a hub featuring Victorian teams, unless they spend 14 days in self-isolation when arriving.

“We know that this will have a dramatic affect on the AFL,” Marshall told reporters on Tuesday.

“But we are adopting a position in South Australia which is not dissimilar to what has been announced for Queensland.

“So any teams coming in from Victoria to South Australia will have to do that two weeks of isolation.

“Any South Australian team that plays a Victorian team or goes to Victoria to play a Victorian team will have to do that two weeks of isolation on return to our state.”

Steven Marshall, pictured here speaking to the media in Adelaide.
SA premier Steven Marshall speaks to the media in Adelaide. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

AFL forced into dramatic fixture revamp

Queensland's identical decision on Monday forced the AFL to reschedule matches for round five which starts on Thursday.

Both Queensland and SA governments announced the fresh protocols in the wake of a spike of coronavirus cases in Melbourne.

The Crows and Power have been in a hub on the Gold Coast for three weeks, with both clubs set to play two more games in Queensland before their shift to Melbourne which now appears unlikely.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said on Monday the league was exploring all options to continue its season, which has completed four of 17 scheduled rounds.

South Australia’s announcement had fans fearing for the season on Tuesday.

with Yahoo Sports staff